Louisiana Central 2-6-2 "Prairie" Locomotives in the USA

Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Data from DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Baldwin Specifications, Vol 71, pp. 293+. See also the TapLine Cases summary archived at [], last accessed 1 June 2013. Works number was 56136 in January 1923.

The W R Pickering Lumber Company was the sole stockholder of this timber harvester. It consisted of two tap lines separated by about 20 miles. The northern segment linked to the Kansas City Southern at Barham, La, where the WRPLC had a mill and extended west about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) to Bayou Toro. The southern division served the mill at Pickering, La and another 19 miles (30.6 km) distant at Cravens, which lay about 1/2 mile from the junction with the Santa Fe. The LC then continued on to Slabtown and Peterton.
The railroad operated as a common carrier between Pickering and Cravens in the south and Barham and Bayou Toro in the north. This relatively large oil-burning Prairie fit the mold of a logging engine, but its capacity told of more expansive demand. Its 11" (279 mm) piston valves and 50" drivers indicate an ability to handle general freight.